An Old Friend
by hoshikuzuhime
Summary: Jack has returned to the town of Burgess once again to distribute the ice and frost for the upcoming winter season. Since Jack has been busy with being a Guardian lately, he hasn't had much time to stay in one place, especially when children were starting to recognize him more and more. **This fic is set in the future, about 10 years after the movie took place
1. Chapter 1: The First Frost

Author's Notes:

I started writing this fic last year in my Bio class when I got bored. I took it home and typed it all out. Recently I decided that I'd revisit it and change things around, add some paragraphing, indents, more description and such. A really hard core edit. To be blunt, the beta, I guess you could call it, was really bad. I don't write fic much so tell me what you think! c:

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Chapter 1: The First Frost

It was a cool, crisp, autumn Saturday morning and leaves were falling off the tress all over the small town of Burgess where Jack was distributing the first frost of the season. The first frost wasn't one of Jacks favourite things to do, but it sure was high on the list. He always loved blowing wind around and making frost in certain places that would disrupt the daily lives of the citizens. It was fun for him, since not many people could see him, it was one of the few things he enjoyed doing as the frost spirit.

As the cold air blew around, Jack swept some leaves off a few trees; this however, was not one of the parts in being the frost spirit Jack enjoyed. The small central park had many trees, and for winter to come properly, he had to blow the leaves off the trees. Occasionally Jack would blow a single leaf around until it caught some wind he wasn't controlling and followed it around for a while to entertain himself.

While doing his daily duties as the frost spirit, Jack slacked off a little and was following a leaf floating in the wind when he spotted a small boy wearing a blue toque and short brown hair poking out from under the hat wandering the trails of the park. "Jamie!" Jack said under his breath, he couldn't believe he had found Jamie just wandering the park like this! But he seemed different from before, not that Jack cared all that much, he hadn't seen his friend in such a long time he just wanted to talk to him and have some fun.

Jack rushed over to greet the boy only to find out that it wasn't Jamie, but a boy that looked almost identical to him. The boy turned around to face Jack and his jaw dropped, the boy stared at the guardian in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; could it really be Jack Frost? _The _Jack Frost?! Jack was a little confused, could this boy see him? Is that why he was acting so strangely? It had to be.

"Jack Frost! You're Jack Frost! Aren't you?!" The boy cried out excitedly. Even though Jack was a guardian and had believers now, not too many children knew who 'Jack Frost the Guardian of Fun' was. Then there was this boy, not only did he see jack, but he knew exactly who he was too! Jack nodded slightly, unable to find the words to reply to the boy with.

"It is you! You're Jack Frost!" The boy cried ecstatic, pointing at Jack. Keeping his eyes on Jack the boy turned to run away, almost tripping over himself in his excitement. Concerned for the boy, Jack reached out to grab the boy's shoulder, "I've got to go tell dad!" The boy cried, over his shoulder in Jack direction as he started to run down the path, out of the park and towards his house.

As the boy ran towards his house Jack flew behind him, tapping his staff on things as he flew by, distributing frost throughout the town. As he did this Jack hid behind trees and bushes so that he wouldn't be spotted. As they passed through the town no one seemed to notice Jack, except a dog that barked at him. People always said that animals had a sixth sense, he guessed that they were able to sense spirits as well, though dogs didn't seen to bark at him all that often. How ever, this dog didn't seem to make a difference, his owner simply scolding him for barking and continued walking in the opposite direction.

The small brunette turned a corner walking through an empty lot and pushed aside a loose board in the fence and stepped through it into the back yard of an familiar looking, average sized crimson coloured house.

There was a small patch of ice at the bottom of the back steps of the house where the boy was headed. Jack just knew that he would slip on it since he didn't seem to be paying attention to anything around him. Sure enough, the boy slipped on the ice and was about to fall forward onto the steps in front of him when Jack blew a burst of air in his direction helping him catch his balance so that he didn't fall. "Thanks Jack!" The boy called out, not even bothering to look back, he just knew that Jack was to thank.

The boy opened the back door to the house and threw off his shoes, hat and jacket onto the floor and ran down the hall and up the stair case to get his father. "Dad! Dad!" Jack could hear the boy call to his father as he ran inside the house. Jack stood outside the doorway and sighed, he hadn't been inside anyone's house for a long time, not that it really mattered though, it's not like many people could see him anyway.


	2. Chapter 2 : A Fateful Encounter

Authors Notes:

This almost updated late since I couldn't find a beta, but I found someone and there should be a new chapter every week! If you like it, leave a review, I would love to hear what everyone thinks!

Chapter 2: A Fateful Encounter

Jack stepped inside the house and into the back entrance way where the boy had thrown his things. He thought about picking them up, but decided that it would be better if he just left them where they were. Stepping further into the house Jack heard the boy talking to his father. Curious to know what the boy would say and how the father would react, Jack stood and eavesdropped at the bottom of the staircase.

"Dad! Jack is here! Jack Frost!" He heard the boy tell his father. He could hear the excitement in the boy's voice. "Jacy, what are you talking about?" A deeper, slightly annoyed, yet still soft voice replied. "Jack hasn't come by here in years," The boy's father said, his voice growing louder with every word that he said. Discouraged, Jacy thought about it again. Maybe it wasn't Jack Frost that he had seen in the park; then again, he could be right!

Jack took a few more steps closer to the base of the intimidating staircase and placed a hand on the railing. He took the first step up and the boards creaked under his feet. Startled, Jack jumped back a little and let go of his staff just enough for it to tap the floor, creating a pattern of cold white frost across the wood.

"That's him over there!" The boy cried running towards the source of the noise. "Jack! Come out!" The boy cried, turning the corner to stand and the top of the staircase.

"Who's there?" The boy's father called out, sounding vaguely alarmed. Jack could hear the man walking down the hall, his footsteps growing louder with each step. He was about to turn the corner, Jack just knew it! Panicked, Jack wasn't sure as to what he should do; he had two options, to stay out in the open where the boy's father could possibly see him—if he believed that is—or run back out the open door and escape without being seen by anyone but the boy. After a quick thought and a step towards the door, the boy's father turned the corner and it was too late.

"Jack?" The voice called out, "Is that you?" He could hear him ask in a quiet voice. Jack froze. This man could see him, but did that mean he was safe? Jack turned his head to see the man half way down the stairs already. He looked familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out why…

"Do you remember me, Jack?" He asked spreading his arms to embrace his old friend. "It's me, Jack, Jamie!" Jack could hear the compassion in his voice. He surely looked and sounded familiar, but the memory escaped him. "It's me Jack, Jamie," The man said. He certainly wasn't the Jamie Bennett that Jack remembered, however he hadn't seen him in quite some time now. It would be expected that he was older and had grown.

"Jamie?" Jack asked, still not completely sure if this man was Jamie or not. Though the more that he looked at him, he did resemble the boy he once knew quite a bit. "Is that really you Jamie?"

Jamie nodded and pulled his friend into a great embrace. Jack stood frozen; he wasn't sure what to do. This man really was Jamie Bennett, how could he have ever doubted it? What grown man would still believe in someone like Jack if he hadn't seen him in person for himself? Jack stood back and looked at his old friend, who was now much taller than Jack was now, and he had matured greatly. He was still the old Jamie he knew. "You've changed a lot," Jack said with a smile.

Jamie looked down at his friend, "And you haven't changed at all!" he joked. Jack looked over to Jacy who was coming down the stairs and stood slightly behind Jamie. Jamie put a hand behind Jacy's back and pushed him forward. "Jack, I would like to introduce you to my son, Jacy," He said with a smile.

Jack's jaw dropped slightly. Was this kid really Jamie's son? Better yet, Jamie had a son?! Jack shook his head and cleared away the thoughts. He crouched down to the child's height and put a hand on his head, "So you're Jacy huh?" He asked with a smile. Jacy nodded and looked up at his father, "You were right, he is cold," He whispered just loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Oh, right, sorry about that, " Jack took his hand off the boy's head. He hadn't had any physical contact with anyone other than the guardians for a while now. He had forgotten that sometimes he was different than other people.

Jamie glanced down at Jacy, then back up at Jack. He wondered if Jack realized if Jacy was his son. He decided that he would explain everything to him; it would give them time to catch up, too.

Jack was about to say something before Jamie cut him off, "I'll explain later." Jack smirked, then leaned down to ruffle Jacy's hair. He turned to leave, "I'll be back later then." Jack said as he passed through the front door and jumped up into the sky and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Home

Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter is so late, originally it was my fault writing and changing at the last minute, but I think my beta left me...so I had to make an attempt to beta myself which probably won't sound as good as before, but none the less it's out. Hope you all enjoy! Leave a review, favourite and/or follow! c:

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Chapter 3: A New Home

The sun had already set and the darkness of night was beginning to consume the town of Burgess. Sandy had begun distributing the dream sand around the town to the children helping them to fall asleep. Jamie opened Jacy's bedroom door to check and make sure that he had fallen asleep when he noticed a layer of frost beginning to cover his son's bedroom window, Jamie was almost positive that Jack was nearby. He rushed down the stairs, even jumping to skip the last few steps. He was eager sit down and chat with his childhood friend, Jamie just couldn't wait!

He unlocked the front door and peered out the window adjacent to the door just in time for a layer of frost to cover over the window. He was certain that was Jack's doing. Jamie opened the door and stepped outside into the cool fall air. The night sky was bright with stars, the sky was clear without a cloud in sight. Jamie looked up at the moon and chuckled, _oh the stories I've heard about you..._ Jamie was about to go back inside and call it a false alarm before he felt a gust of cold air and heard a faint laugh of a familiar voice.

"Jack?" Jamie called into the cold night. "Jack?" He called again, searching for his friend. He was certain it was Jack that frosted over the windows. "Jack where are you?" Finally he jumped don't from above him, Jack let out a subtle laugh, "You'll never change, Jamie Bennett." Jamie invited Jack inside to explain what had happened and catch up with his childhood friend.

"So what did you want to tell me?" Jack asked as he made himself at home, sitting on the couch in Jamie's living room. Jamie glanced down at Jack. He saw the glowing smile on his face, and his bright eyes. He could practically feel the excitement flowing through his friend. Jamie hadn't seem him in so long, it was practically impossible to bring up the courage to talk to him. "I thought that-" Jamie paused, maybe this wasn't the time to tell Jack, he seemed to happy and Jamie certainly didn't want to bring his spirits down. He took a deep breath, "Well, you remember yesterday when I mentioned that Jacy was my son, right?"

Jack's expression changed, he became confused, what was Jamie going to say? Jamie could see the confusion in Jack's eyes, he knew this would happen, but he felt that he had to tell him, it wouldn't have felt right if he didn't.

"Yeah, I remember, was there something else about him?" Jack asked, half laughing, he scratched the back of his head and smiled again. He should have noticed that Jacy was his son, they looked so similar after all. And what else would a kid be doing in Jamie's house if he wasn't his son? It was practically evident. "So how did it all happen? I mean-" The white haired boy stumbled on his own words, he knew what he wanted to ask, he just wasn't sure how to word it.

Jamie laughed, "I adopted him a few years ago." he stated. Jack looked at him surprised, "He looks so much like you though, if it wasn't for his age I almost would have thought he was your biological son!" Jack told him. Jamie chuckled, "I thought it would be a nice change of pace, not so lonely either, you must know how horrible it is to be lonely right?" Jack sighed, he knew loneliness all too well, things had gotten better for him recently. He had the guardians, and his believers that he would play with oh-so-often. "Good for you, no one should have to be lonely." Jack told his friend, half smiling as he remembered his first lonely 400 years as Jack Frost. "You know," Jamie started, "It definitely wouldn't be as lonely if you came around more often." He said trying to hide his stupid grin.

"Awe Jamie, you know I have a job to do. And I'm a guardian now!" Jack reminded his friend. Jamie knew that Jack had to distribute the frost to the world, and a reputation to keep among the other guardians. Even make sure the children were having fun, but Jamie couldn't stop but to feel a little jealous over all the other children. "Come on, you could treat my house like a home base! I'm sure Jacy would love that too." He replied, trying to convince Jack to stop by more often.

Jack sighed, he was certain that Jamie didn't want him to go now that he was here. He couldn't blame him, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Jack pondered the thought of finishing up his current job and staying for a day or two, then maybe coming back every once and a while. He could treat it like a home base, it would be nice to know he had a place he could call "home" every once and a while. "Maybe I could stop by occasionally..." Jack muttered.

Jamie's face lit up, Jack could see the excitement in his face as if he was a child again. Jamie laughed, "That's great! I can't wait for you to come back again." He exclaimed, trying to hold back his excitement. Jamie couldn't wait for Jack to start coming back again, it had been so long since they'd seen each other, he couldn't hope for anything more than to see his old friend.

"Going back to the lonely topic, what happened to all your other friends?" Jack wondered, Jamie had plenty of friends when he was younger. They were always having fun and playing outside together, but now Jamie said he had been lonely for a while now, something must have happened to them. "I guess we just grew apart..I haven't seen a few of them since we were kids." Jamie sighed, he didn't like that all his friends seemed to have disappeared from his life. "Pippa moved away a few years after you became a guardian, then we lost touch..." Jack could see the sadness in his friend's eyes, it must have been hard on him to slowly lose his friends like that. "Monty was the last one I talked to, he stopped by last year for a visit then left for the job of a lifetime in some big-shot company across country."

Jack pulled Jamie into a tight embrace, he felt bad for him, losing touch with his friends. He couldn't leave him like this after returning from being apart for so long. Jack suddenly let go of Jamie, "Sorry, I forgot I'm so cold." He said with a slight chuckle, trying to lighten up the mood. "How's this sound," Jack begun, "I'll stay for one more night here. But then I have to go back and finish my job. I promise I'll come back soon though, okay?" Jack asked him.

"That sounds great." Jamie said letting out a yawn. Jack stood up, "Well you should get to bed, it's getting late isn't it? Sandy already made his rounds, you should be sleeping." Jamie laughed, "Jack I'm not a kid anymore, I can stay up later than before." Jack paused, he hadn't seen Jamie for so long, he had almost forgotten.

Jamie started his trek up the stairs toward the bathroom. He paused halfway up the stairs, "If you're going to stick around, there's a guest bedroom next to Jacy's, feel free to stay there if you'd like." He said as he yawned, then continued up the stairs and around the corner. Jack smiled, at last he felt at home.


	4. Chapter 4: The Counselor

Chapter 4: The Counselor  
Jack sighed; Jamie had always been a little careless. After he locked the front door, Jack stood there and looked around his friend's house. Between the furniture and the décor around his house, Jack couldn't imagine it being anyone else's house. He stood at the bottom of the stairs with his hand on the railing and looked up the staircase. Jack could feel a pain inside his chest.  
It was the same feeling he had when he was all alone before he met the guardians. The pain he had when he first emerged from the lake, when he realized that no one could see him.  
There was no way he could stay here. Jack would have to go somewhere, anywhere, but he just couldn't stay here.  
He decided that he would go to the spare bedroom Jamie told him about and he would leave through the window. Jack didn't want to let them down so he concluded that he would leave the two a note. Jack found some paper and a pencil and begun to write their note:  
'_Dear Jamie and Jacy, I'm sorry I had to leave so soon. I'll be back before you know it, I promise! I just had to take care of one last thing before I could stay much longer. I hope I didn't disappoint you. Your friend, Jack Frost._'  
Jack put the pencil down on the bedside table. He picked up the note and read it back to himself. "Dear Jamie and Jacy- Oh who am I kidding?" He crumbled up the piece of paper into a ball and threw it across the room. _What was I thinking?_ Jack thought.  
Not thinking had put him in such a position he wasn't sure what to do any more. He couldn't stay here, he had things to do, and as much as he didn't want to accept it, they were more important than spending time with Jamie and Jacy.  
Jack stood at the windowsill and unlatched the lock. He opened the window and looked outside to the calm night, stars twinkling in the sky. He took a deep breath and stepped on the sill and jumped out, letting the wind whisk him away.  
Jack sailed in the wind on a familiar path, the wind currents pushing and pulling him in different directions. He drifted across many countries and far up into the sky toward a golden and twinkling structure, buzzing with life. Jack was soon passed by small birds rushing along not even slowing down. The amount of birds that passed him became more and more the closer he became to the structure which was, the "Tooth Palace".  
Jack made his way to the center of the tooth palace where another fellow guardian was, the guardian of memories, Toothania, or "Tooth" for short. She hovered above her palace's floor commanding her fairies were to collect the teeth from the children who lost them.  
"Just a second Jack." Tooth said, continuing to tell her fairies where to go to collect more of teeth from the children of the world. Jack chuckled, he hadn't seen Tooth in a while, but she didn't seem to realize who exactly was standing beside her.  
The realization clicked in Tooth's head and she stopped what she was doing. "...Jack?" She asked, as she turned toward her friend, the shock and surprise on her face, Jack could tell that she wasn't expecting him to show up anytime soon. "Jack!" Tooth exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace. "What are you doing here?" She asked, gleefully.  
Jack laughed, he decided to make a mental note to visit his friends more often. Tooth wasn't normally this happy when he came to visit before, it must have really been a long time. "I- uh… I came for some advice. I figured you would be the best one to ask…" Jack mumbled. He didn't really know that many people between the guardians and Jamie that was about everyone he knew.  
Tooth took a step back away from him and smiled. Jack could see the deviant behind the smile and his confident smirk faded. "Some advice huh?" Tooth asked, "Well, you've come to the right place!" She said with excitement as she pulled Jack to another section of her palace away from all of the bustling and fairies. She took him down to a familiar little pristine pond all the guardians visited when he first met them. Tooth hovered above the pond, "Now that we're away from all that noise, what did you need advice for Jack?"  
Jack stepped onto the pond, freezing the water with every step he took on the pond. He looked up at the mural on the wall, where he had once stood before when Tooth first told him he had a life before becoming Jack Frost. "You remember Jamie Bennett right?" He asked, starting to explain himself. "Of course I do, he was your first believer wasn't he? He helped us defeat Pitch back then." Tooth replied with confidence. "Well you see, I went back to visit him yesterday...it wasn't exactly on purpose though, it just kind of happened…" Jack took a deep breath, he didn't know what he got himself into, he just hoped that Tooth could help him out and give him some advice that might fix this big mess he started. "Jamie is older now, he's a grown man, with a job and his own house…he even has a son!" Jack exclaimed.  
Tooth could see the pain and confusion in Jack's face. "Oh Jack, That's what happens to people, you should know that…Jamie's no different." She told him, her motherly side starting to show as she spoke. "I know," Jack said, looking down at the frost patterns on the ice below as he drew more with his toes. "It just feels different with Jamie." Jack mumbled. "I know he's different than us and he's just a normal person, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it."  
Tooth sighed, she didn't exactly know what Jack was going through personally, but she couldn't just let a fellow guardian down in his time of need.  
"He wants me to stay there.." Jack said, tapping his staff against a tree, watching the frost spread in different designs and patters. "He asked if I could visit him more often…but I have a job to do as a guardian, I want to visit him more often, but I can't…How would I do it Tooth? You have to help me…I said I would, I've created a mess for myself…"  
Tooth could see the frustration and trouble in Jack's expression and the way he was acting. He moved slowly and drug his staff as he walked, it was like Jack had met defeat. Tooth felt the need to do whatever she could to help him. "They, uhm, actually think I'm there right now, too." Jack stumbled on his words, trying to speed up the conversation a little so he could possibly get back to Jamie's house before they woke up.  
"Go back there for now and come back later when you have time, we can talk more then." Smiling, her feet touching the ground close to him, she took his hands in hers, "How's that sound?" She asked, her soft voice soothing Jack's troubles. "Thanks Tooth." Jack thanked her, then jumped up into the wind current, sweeping him away from her tooth palace, "I'll be back tomorrow!" He cried as he disappeared into the sky. Tooth laughed as she watched him disappear into the horizon before going back to work as the tooth fairy.


	5. Chapter 5: Bad Advice

Author's Notes: Sorry I didn't post a chapter last week, I couldn't seem to figure out what to right, it was like I hit a wall...I'm still not even sure what direction this fic is going in either..I'll get it all figured out soon enough, anyway, things should be back to normal now! c:

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Chapter 5: Bad Advice

Jack arrived just outside of Jamie's house. He perched upon the power pole and looked around at the serene town just before the sun rose. Jack took that time to think about what he would do, what he was going to say to Jamie, and how he was going to clean up the mess he made._ I'll figure this out somehow, I have to. _Jack thought to himself. He didn't want to let Jamie down, but if he stopped doing his job, the children of the world might stop believing in him.

Jack jumped down and stood on a tree branch that ran close to the guest room's window in Jamie's house. Jack opened the window he left unlocked earlier that night and slipped in. Everything was just how he left it, not that he didn't expect anything to have changed.

Jack lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, his fingers laced, looking up at the ceiling. He thought of every outcome that could possibly happen in his situation. _I'm sure everything will turn out fine. _Jack assured himself. He closed his eyes and pictured himself with Jamie, memories flooding back from just before he was a guardian, memories of his battle with Pitch, memories of becoming a guardian.

The hours ticked by and before he realized Jamie knocked on the door, peeking his head in. "Jack, I made breakfast if you want any." Jamie said cheerfully before he closed the door again, returning downstairs into the kitchen.

Jack shuffled toward the door, opening to hear a loud squeak, Jack chuckled as he pushed and pulled the door back and forth making it squeak more. "Do you mind?" A voice asked. Jack stopped and turned to see Jacy emerging from his room. He was still in his pajamas, holding his stuffed bear. Jack could see that the boy could fall asleep again at any given moment, and decided to leave him be. The two trudged down the stairs toward the kitchen where Jamie had prepared breakfast for everyone.

They all sat around the small table and ate their breakfast, everything was calm, except for Jack. His eyes darted around the room. Looking at the clock, and Jamie and Jacy, and then at the breakfast they were eating. Jack stirred his scrambled eggs around his plate and rolled the sausage back and forth. You could see how uncomfortable Jack was a mile away.

Before Jamie could say anything Jack began to talk; "Jacy it's getting a little late, shouldn't you be heading off to school?" he asked, trying to rid the house of the petulant silence. Jamie chuckled, he supposed that Jack wouldn't know the holidays of every country of the world, but he'd been around for so long, you think that he'd learn a few at least. "It's Columbus day, duh." Jacy said, rolling his eyes before finishing his breakfast. The boy then stood up and went back upstairs to his room, talking to himself as he went, "...heading off to school, ha!" he grumbled.

Jack looked at Jamie, "I was just trying to make conversation maybe even be a little helpful!" he pleaded, trying to defend himself. Jamie laughed, "It's okay Jack." Jack looked at the clock again, trying to think of the perfect thing to say so he could go visit Tooth again so they could have their "Guardian to Guardian" chat. Jamie stood up and began to gather the dishes, "You know Jack, if you want to get back to work so bad, you just had to say something." Jack's eyes lit up, he knew Jamie would understand.

Jack gave Jamie his breakfast dishes and began to head out the door, "Have a good day, come home soon!" Jamie called after him. Jack closed the front door behind him and sighed, 'come home soon'. It was resonating in his mind, what was he going to do? For now, he would go to Tooth to see if she could help any further, but before that, Jack had some work to do.

Jack soared across the sky, from town to town until he arrived at today's project, Minot in North Dakota. This town was due for icy roads and chilly winds. He started with the ice, taping his staff on buildings, roads and everything in between. The town soon had ice scattered every where, and there were people slipping on the slick ground left, right and center. Jack wasn't done yet, he gave a smirk and waved his staff, "Now for some wind!" He said to himself, blowing the trees around and whatever people had left out all over the town.

"I think that's enough chaos for one day!" Jack said with a smirk, and headed off to the next location.

The day went by and soon enough the sun was setting on the west coast of North America and Jack decided it was time he visited Tooth, but on his way there, maybe he would visit North too. With a sly grin he sailed through the sky, "Here I come old man." He said under his breath.

When Jack arrived at the North Pole there were two yetis at the entrance, "Hey Phil!" Jack said with a smile, walking ever so casually toward the door. The yetis stood infront of Jack with their arms crossed and grumbled gibberish at him. Jack laughed and shrugged them off, "H-hey hey now, I just want to have a chat with North, is that so much to ask?" The yetis backed off and let Jack pass with ease. "I can't believe they're still holding grudges from so long ago..." he muttered in disbelief.

As Jack made his way to North's personal workshop he saw some elves scurrying ahead of him with a big glass of milk. They opened the door and filed in, closing it behind them. Jack could hear North's laugh beyond the door, it reminded him of when he first became a guardian, the memories were so vivid it's like he could relive them if he just shut his eyes.

Jack pushed the door ever so slightly, bumping one of the elves in the midst. "How many times have I told you to-" The elves opened the door further and North stopped mid sentence "Jack," he said in confusion, "It's you, what are you doing here?"Jack chuckled walked by him towards the room's bay window. "I've come across a small problem." He said and sat down on the window's ledge, holding onto his staff while resting some of his weight on it.

North's face went from his happy old self to a more serious look. "Is it a lady problem Jack? If you like someone you're better off talking to Tooth about it." Jack bolted upright, _'a lady problem?'_ he thought to himself, Jack bolted upright, "No, it's not a _'lady problem'_!" Jack cried. "It's about Jamie." He said, sitting back down. North's expression dropped, his eyes grew as he tried to collect himself, "I-I'm sorry Jack..." North stumbled on his words, "...I didn't realize you were like that or I wouldn't have said anything." Jack got off the window sill and stood up, "Oh for Manny's sake-" He said as he opened the window. "Nevermind, I'll just ask Tooth." Jack huffed as he jumped out the window and soared off into the distance, leaving the North and his now ajar window behind.

North reached out for Jack as he left, but it wasn't acknowledged. He began to reassess the situation, "Maybe I was wrong on both accounts..." He brought his hand up to stroke his beard, "Ah well, Tooth is probably better at advice anyway!"


	6. Chapter 6: The Breakdown

Chapter 6: The Breakdown

As Jack sailed across the North and up into the clouds, he grew closer to the golden palace in the sky, the Tooth Palace. Jack could never get enough of it, the second it came into sight it brought a smile to his face. He raced toward the palace to find Tooth at it's center.

"Hey Tooth, I'm back." Jack yelled out as he approached her so she wouldn't brush him off by accident again. Tooth turned to face him and gave him a hug, "Welcome back Jack." She said as she stepped down onto the steps that lead down toward Jack. "Shall we?" Jack asked, gesturing toward the small pond ad mural where they usually spoke. "Lets." Replied Tooth as they headed to their favourite spot.

"So have you talked to Jamie about it at all?" She asked, hovering just above the ground beside him. Jack sighed, he knew he should have said _something_ to Jamie, but not only could he not bear to tell him, but just wasn't able to find the right words to tell him. "No...not yet." He breathed.

Tooth darted in front of Jack, and put her hands on his shoulders, hovering just above him. Her serious face made Jack even more nervous than he was before. "Jack you need to tell him that you can't stay with him. You have guardian duties to attend to, if you don't do your job it puts all our lives at stake as well as bring disappointment to children all over the world. This is serious Jack, you have to take care of this." She looked him in the eyes, her gaze pierced through him. He felt as if her gaze had melted the snowflakes in his irises. He averted his gaze down ward toward the small pond beside them. "I know, I just...Jamie is my friend too, and I don't want to hurt him." He mumbled, trying to find a middle ground, somewhere they could all get what they wanted.

Tooth knew that this was tearing him apart. She knew how special Jamie is to him, her first believer was important to her too. "If you need to think about it Jack, you should. I know he's your friend but this is very important. Make sure you word things as best as you can so you don't hurt his feelings." She said with a motherly smile across her face. She brought Jack into a tight embrace, giving him all the encouragement she could to help him get over the bump in the road.

"I'll try my best." Jack said as he turned to leave once again to head back to Jamie's house. He jumped up into the wind current and took off. "Good luck!" Tooth cried as he soared away, she knew he'd figure out the right thing to do, and would eagerly await to find out what it was.

Jack soared through the air, back to Jamie's house and through the guest window once again. He sat down on the edge of his bed and put his head in his hands. '_Come on Jack, think! You can figure this out, I __**believe**__ in you.' _Jack told himself as ideas raced through his mind, what he would say, how he would tell Jamie and what he would do afterwords. He took the paper and pencil out from the drawer of the bedside table and began scribbling down ideas.

After a significant amount of time had passed and Jack looked over at the small digital clock on the bedside table. "It's four o'clock already? Time sure seems to fly lately..." Jack mumbled to himself as he examined the three pages he had written his ideas on. "Okay." He said taking a deep breath before beginning to sort through his assortment of ideas jumbled up onto the three pages. Some of the ideas he scratched out, deciding they were useless as he wrote them.

He went over the rest and hummed and hawed over each one, eventually crossing them off as he went. After he had gone through them all he had only two left, the first; '_Tell Jamie he's a good friend, but they could only meet when Jack had some free time in his schedule.' _and the second; '_Write Jamie a letter explaining everything that was going on and leave during the night when he's sleeping, only to return when he was in the area.' _

Jack seemed to think that the second one seemed easier, but he thought that the first would be nicer, and wouldn't leave him confused or as sad as the first. Now, Jack just had to find the right words and the perfect time to sit Jamie down to tell him what was going on.

Jack heard a knock on his door, he quickly pushed his notes under the bed and turned around to face the door, "Come in." He called, and the door opened with Jamie on the other side. "I just thought I'd let you know that we're going to have supper in a few minutes." Jamie told him before he closed the door behind him, returning downstairs to prepare the meal. Jack turned back to see the paper he had written on peeking out from under the bedskirt. He picked them pages up and put them back into the drawer where he originally found the paper.

Jack stumbled down the stairs toward the supper table. He could smell the food as if he were infront of it already, Jamie and Jacy's voices echoed in the room. A memory flashed before Jack's eyes of his mother and sister preparing a meal, the smell of the food wafting through their house. Jack shook his head, he couldn't make leaving this house harder for himself.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Jacy rolled his eyes, he was an impatient child, and not the nicest either. Jack had gotten the wrong impression of him when they had first met a few days earlier. Jamie tapped Jacy on the back of his head, "Oh be nice you, I only just told him supper was ready." Jack chuckled as he sat down at the table to join them for the delicious smelling meal.

Time passed and they had all finished their meal, Jacy was the first to get up from the table, "Dad I'm going outside to play with my friends." he said as he headed towards the front door, grabbing his jacket of the railing on his way. "Oh no you're not, it's getting late, and it's already dark out. You can stay inside until tomorrow." Jamie lectured his son and pointed upstairs in the direction of his room, suggesting he play there. Jacy sighed, he dropped his jacket and trudged up the stairs.

"He sure has an attitude doesn't he?" Jack asked, watching the boy disappear up the stairs. Jamie sighed and stood up, clearing some of the dishes off the table, "I'm sure North thinks so too, he doesn't particularly get the best of gifts at Christmas..." The two laughed and Jack stood up to help Jamie with the dishes.

Once the table was clear and the kitchen had been cleaned Jamie collapsed onto the couch in the living room. Jack sat down beside him, he figured that now was the best time to tell Jamie that he couldn't stay, but before Jack could say anything Jamie started to talk. "I was cleaning the house a little today, dusting in the guest room where you're staying, and I found a note on the floor."

Jack's eyes widened, he had completely forgotten about the note he'd written the day before. "Um..." Jack stuttered, "I meant to throw that out, you see-" Jamie cut him off, "Are you leaving so soon Jack?" His eyes filled with sadness at the thought of his best friend leaving him so soon.

Jack didn't want to tell Jamie this after seeing him so sad, but it was now or never. "Jamie," Jack started, "I can't stay here, I have guardian duties to attend to. If I don't do my job the children might stop believing, and I can't risk that. For the other guardian's sake, and mine too." Jack told him, being as sincere as he could. He didn't want to hurt Jamie, but he felt as though this was the best way.

Jamie's expression fell off his face, he couldn't believe what he had just heard, Jack was leaving him again. Tears welled in Jamie's eyes, his hands tightened into fists as he stood up. Before the tears could fall down his cheeks, Jamie rushed up the stairs and into his room. "Jamie, wait!" Jack called after him, but it was no use.

Jack sighed, he knew it was his fault. He walked up the stairs towards Jamie's room and knocked on his door, "Jamie, can I come in? I want to talk about this more with you." Silence filled the air as Jack opened the door, and peered in to see Jamie sitting on his bed as tears streamed down his face. He walked into Jamie's room and sat down beside him on the bed, "Jamie I know I just got here, and I haven't been around much, but I have work to do. I'll come back as much as I can, but I can't promise anything. I'm sorry." Jack turned to bring his friend into a tight embrace. "I can fix this Jamie, you just have to _believe_ in me. Just believe in me one more time." Jamie nodded, he may be saddened by the fact they couldn't always be together, but he would always believe in him.

Jack leaned back and smiled at Jamie, "Don't you worry, I have a plan." Jack said with a sly smile as he stepped out the door, closing it behind him. Jamie smiled back, Jack could always cheer someone up, after all, he _is_ the guardian of fun.


End file.
